Odyssey - Europe 9/19/24-10/5/24 - LIVE 🚞🚌🚢 ✈️🚐

[Denversail]

21 minutes ago, julies5280 said:

No idea how this service van = hookers.

 

That being said, I think over time she has provided you a great amount of good information.  I'm not sure why you haven't already gotten her a pair of binoculars to use for appropriate surveillance.

Not a chance. I’ve repeatedly told her to cut it out. My devil child enjoys egging her on and you’ve seen where that goes. I’d prefer she just spy on her own neighbors. 

[DelMom18a]

On 9/11/2024 at 2:00 PM, Denversail said:

Athens -

We reserved George's Taxi for the day. I think @julies5280 has purchased all the tickets we need to get into the major sites. We will tour around and hopefully get some lunch. 

 

Ephesus -

I don't think we have made any plans here @julies5280 has developed some type of fear about rug salesmen. I guess her friends bought a rug in Turkey and the same guy they bought it from showed up at their house in the USA to deliver it. This seemed to freak her out so no rug shopping for us!

About 10 years ago my sister and I hired a private driver and guide to take us from the ship to Ephesus.  We might have been asked about rugs but I don't recall that so I'm fairly certain we didn't get a hard sale and I know we did not go look at any rugs.  We hired someone recommended on R Steves website and they met us at the pier, escorted us thru the historical site and took us back to the ship.  I highly recommended them at the time.  And no rug sales person!

 

[Denversail]

On Saturday we will arrive in Mykonos. We haven’t made any plans yet. I’m considering doing a beach club if they are still open. I love the beach and it is a long port day. We aren’t so lucky here with the other ships. This place is going to be packed. 

[julies5280]

9 minutes ago, Denversail said:

On Saturday we will arrive in Mykonos. We haven’t made any plans yet. I’m considering doing a beach club if they are still open. I love the beach and it is a long port day. We aren’t so lucky here with the other ships. This place is going to be packed. 

@Denversail saw someone post about SantAnna beach club - maybe you can see about that beach?

[Denversail]

On Sunday we will have a shorter port day in Crete. @julies5280 has chartered a boat for us. Hopefully she can post more details. It wasn’t cheap but those things never are. Sounds like they are flexible on how we spend our day. I think she mentioned snorkeling and a tour of the area. I love being on the water so looking forward to this.

Edited September 12 by Denversail

[Denversail]

We will enjoy one last sea day and then unfortunately our nine day cruise will come to an end. We will disembark Odyssey of the seas on Tuesday, Oct 1st. This is where I will part ways with @julies5280 and @Dakota Kid CO. They will proceed to the airport via a car service. I assume the same one she booked to the port. I will head to the train station. I have a lot going on over these next 5 days while I travel solo around Italy. I suspect things will get very interesting at this point. 

[Denversail]

I didn’t realize so much time had gone by since I last posted. It is Sunday afternoon and we have 4 days before we leave. I saw in the news this morning that Air Canada reached an agreement with the pilots. Their operations should proceed as normal. I just need to remember to cancel my backup flight. 
 

Things are getting real. I’ve got a table out where I’ve started staging everything to be packed. I can’t believe I’ll be in Europe this Friday. 

[Denversail]

I’m going to give all you puppy lovers what you’ve been waiting for… the most difficult part of this trip no matter how chaotic will be not having this guy around. 

 

My ex moved out a few weeks ago and this guy is already adjusting to that. He has started snuggling up with me every night between 2 and 4 am. He just curls himself up tucked into my stomach. He is the best pet I’ve ever had and I’m going to miss him terribly.
 

@Dupable and my son will be here to take care of him. I’ve noticed the more I’ve traveled this year the more attached he has become to my son. I’ve frequently come home from work to find him hanging in my son’s room which never used to be the case. 

[malba2366]

On 9/12/2024 at 5:53 PM, Denversail said:

On Saturday we will arrive in Mykonos. We haven’t made any plans yet. I’m considering doing a beach club if they are still open. I love the beach and it is a long port day. We aren’t so lucky here with the other ships. This place is going to be packed. 

 

Have fun!  Be careful of the scammy places that offer you a free beach chair and then have some a 100+ Euro minimum food and bev spend for using the chair.

[katstat]

We will be on this cruise too!  So excited!

[Fall2010]

Your fur baby is adorable!  I hope you have a wonderful trip and I look forward to reading your review.  Safe travels.

[Denversail]

On 9/9/2024 at 5:27 PM, Sea Dog said:

Sorry I’m a little late noticing your review but luckily you started early enough that I won’t miss a thing.

 

I am excited to follow along on this great cruise. Is this your first time over to Rome and the Greek isles? That itinerary reminds me of my wife’s and I honeymoon cruise. I think Santorini is one of the most beautiful places in the world. The food and wine in Greece is amazing. We loved Rome, so much history there. Spent two days there and still didn’t see everything we wanted to see. 
 

Looking forward to hearing everything about your adventure.

 

Cheers,

Sea Dog

It is my first time to Rome and the Greek Isles! I can't wait to take it all in.

[Sea Dog]

You are going to love it. Santorini has been my all time favorite. Allow for time to just sit at an outdoor cafe along the cliff line for wine and cheese. Mykonos in town has wonderful little shops and restaurants along these narrow cobblestone streets. We ate at a restaurant that had some of the best food and wine I had ever eaten.

[Denversail]

Working on getting all my paperwork together so I know where to go. A little worried about @Dupable who is driving around North Dakota through hail storms in a rental car with a flat tire. Hopefully she makes it back home safely today as planned. 

 

When we get off the cruise as I mentioned I will proceed solo. I'm booked on the 9:16 train back to Rome. I will then store my larger piece of luggage and proceed to Venice via another train. This is where I made my mistake. I booked the train to Mestre Venice but I need to go to Venice S. Lucia. I looked at this and it appears it is just one station further and they go frequently. I was just going to deal with fixing this the day of. I will either extend my existing ticket or catch a different train one more station. Once at S. Lucia my understanding is I can take a water taxi directly to my hotel. 

 

I'll only be staying one night at Hotel AI Cavalieri. I'll leave late the next morning via train and head to Milan.

[julies5280]

37 minutes ago, Denversail said:

Working on getting all my paperwork together so I know where to go. A little worried about @Dupable who is driving around North Dakota through hail storms in a rental car with a flat tire. Hopefully she makes it back home safely today as planned. 

 

When we get off the cruise as I mentioned I will proceed solo. I'm booked on the 9:16 train back to Rome. I will then store my larger piece of luggage and proceed to Venice via another train. This is where I made my mistake. I booked the train to Mestre Venice but I need to go to Venice S. Lucia. I looked at this and it appears it is just one station further and they go frequently. I was just going to deal with fixing this the day of. I will either extend my existing ticket or catch a different train one more station. Once at S. Lucia my understanding is I can take a water taxi directly to my hotel. 

 

I'll only be staying one night at Hotel AI Cavalieri. I'll leave late the next morning via train and head to Milan.

If she is in North Dakota there are real problems since she is supposed to only be in South Dakota. 
 

Hopefully @Dupablestill made time for Grandpa (can’t remember your name for him) to get his sweatshirt. 

[Denversail]

1 minute ago, julies5280 said:

If she is in North Dakota there are real problems since she is supposed to only be in South Dakota. 
 

Hopefully @Dupablestill made time for Grandpa (can’t remember your name for him) to get his sweatshirt. 

My bad... South Dakota. His name is Good Sport and he will be lucky if she allowed him time to eat. 

[Thisguylikestocruise]

18 hours ago, malba2366 said:

 

Have fun!  Be careful of the scammy places that offer you a free beach chair and then have some a 100+ Euro minimum food and bev spend for using the chair.

DK Oysters is probably the worst. It’s been in the news. People get bullied into paying 600€ or more for food and drinks. 

[katstat]

2 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

You are going to love it. Santorini has been my all time favorite. Allow for time to just sit at an outdoor cafe along the cliff line for wine and cheese. Mykonos in town has wonderful little shops and restaurants along these narrow cobblestone streets. We ate at a restaurant that had some of the best food and wine I had ever eaten.

Can you share the name of restaurant please?

[Denversail]

I just talked to @Dupable who has decided she just doesn't have time for Discount Tire. She has filled the tire with air and decided to proceed into the vast emptiness that is her route back home. We will see if she makes it out the other side.

 

Anyways back to me... on Oct 2nd I'll head from Venice to Milan via train. I booked my ticket to Milano Centrale and I think I might need to hop on something else to get over to Duomo. I'll be staying at Hotel Spadari al Duomo for two nights. I plan to visit Lako Como on Thursday and spend the day there. This is a bucket list place for me. I've always wanted to visit. I originally had a tour booked through Viator to go there but cancelled it. I of course felt confident I could do this on my own after watching a few youtube videos. This is the area that I think will be having a rail strike while I'm there. Now me not so sure. 😆

[Sea Dog]

2 hours ago, katstat said:

Can you share the name of restaurant please?

The one in Santorini overlooking the med, I don't remember but there are tons of them. In Mykonos I don't remember the name as our cruise was in 1997 so I am sure it is a different name now or different restaurant but I have talked to others who have been recently and rave about the food there. Here is a picture of the restaurant we ate it. You can kind of read the sign but I did a search and came up with nothing.

 

[katstat]

4 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

The one in Santorini overlooking the med, I don't remember but there are tons of them. In Mykonos I don't remember the name as our cruise was in 1997 so I am sure it is a different name now or different restaurant but I have talked to others who have been recently and rave about the food there. Here is a picture of the restaurant we ate it. You can kind of read the sign but I did a search and came up with nothing.

 

Thanks, was it on the water?

[Sea Dog]

11 minutes ago, katstat said:

Thanks, was it on the water?

The restaurant in Mykonos was in town. The restaurant in Santorini was up top on the cliff.

 

[Mrs.Dukes]

9 hours ago, Denversail said:

I just talked to @Dupable who has decided she just doesn't have time for Discount Tire. She has filled the tire with air and decided to proceed into the vast emptiness that is her route back home. We will see if she makes it out the other side.

 

Anyways back to me... on Oct 2nd I'll head from Venice to Milan via train. I booked my ticket to Milano Centrale and I think I might need to hop on something else to get over to Duomo. I'll be staying at Hotel Spadari al Duomo for two nights. I plan to visit Lako Como on Thursday and spend the day there. This is a bucket list place for me. I've always wanted to visit. I originally had a tour booked through Viator to go there but cancelled it. I of course felt confident I could do this on my own after watching a few youtube videos. This is the area that I think will be having a rail strike while I'm there. Now me not so sure. 😆

 

We were in Italy after a cruise this summer, and we took the train from Venice to Milan Centrale. From Milan Centrale you can take the Metro to the Duomo stop. We opted for a taxi because we had a good amount of luggage. 

[Denversail]

I can confirm that @Dupable has made it back home safely. I know this because she just stopped by my house to let my dogs out even though I talked to her this morning and I let her know I was at home. We made plans for later in the day. She says she just forgot. 🥺
 

We are now about 48 hours out. A lot of stuff left to get done. 

[Dupable]

Dupable here.   yes we have safely returned from our trip to South Dakota.  The good - wonderful time with our grandson.   The bad - car issues (slow leak in tire ), hail (did not know SD got hail !!), falls (one in a creek, one on a very rocky trail), police encounter (happily Rapid City police are very friendly and understanding).  Anyway, home and slowly decompressing although still a bit of brain fog as evidenced by our useless trip to denversail's home this morning.   Don't worry all you animal lovers - we will be ready to give her pups lots of love while she is gone.